Five Hundred Years
by Osoji Nosferatu
Summary: 500 years have passed since Robin slayed the Fell Dragon, bringing peace to Ylisse- and his own life. Courtesy of all his strategical musings, Nowi has become the new tactician for the 5th generation of the Shepherds. However, a near-immortal being must pay a price greater than death itself, which is simply reminiscence… Part of my series, "A Shepherd's Love." (M for almost-lemon)
1. Till We Fall Asleep

**AN: So I sat down one night and said, "Y'know, I like Nowi. I also like Robin a lot. Let's pair them up for a oneshot and see what my brain tells me." I never expected… this emotional monster to omit itself from my fingertips. 0_0 gods, it made me cry towards the latter parts! My eyes widened and I stared at my screen, transfixed in horror. But I'm glad it turned out like this, and I hope you enjoy it! Oh yeah, before every chapter, I'll leave a song suggestion to listen to while reading the chapter.**

**This fic is dedicated to Adrian Celsius who awakened my appreciating for Robin x Nowi. Also, I dedicate this to SockMyRock, a buddy who've I've messaged frequently since beginning this account. You're awesome! I did this dedication shtick because I feel that this is my best work thus far.**

**Song for chapter 1: Peace- O.A.R**

Summary:

500 years have passed since Robin slayed the Fell Dragon. Courtesy of all his strategical musings, Nowi has become the new Tactician for the 5th generation of the Shepherds. However, a near-immortal being must pay a price greater than death itself, which is simply reminiscence…

* * *

_Five centuries after Grima's defeat _

A Cordelia-like sigh escaped Nowi's lips. With a painfully slow motion, she brought her gloved hand up to her cheek and rubbed it gingerly. He used to do the same while they lay in bed so long ago. Five hundred agonizing years… gods, had it been that long since Robin left her life?

The natural consequences of being around his sheer genius rubbed off on her; she inherited every single tactical book and manual he owned. Thus, she took it upon herself to continue his legacy. While she denied any claim to be as gifted as the world-famous Grandmaster, all five generations of Shepherds had prospered under her watch. None had died a death other than from sickness or old age, a fact that she was exceedingly proud of.

Nevertheless, there had been countless wars over the span of five centuries, but they were short-lived and trivial compared to the one she lent her services to- as a member of the Shepherds, not as its tactician. While Morgan, their future daughter, had taken over the duties of strategian just fine after Robin's demise, she was, ultimately, half-human. Thus, she died after living for 450 happy years, having aged like a Manakete, only quicker. Gods, it was painful to watch the aspiring, cheery Tactician fade into the bud of the transformed Manakete and disappear from existence forever! Nah, her eldest future daughter, had suffered the same fate, with Robin's human blood coursing through her veins. She remembered all the grand times they spent together, be it sparring, eating, or even arguing. At least they were there.

Nowi had barely changed at all, besides her shift in personality since Robin's demise. And, her body had begun to show signs of metamorphosis into a human teenager rather than a child. But, alas, the Manakete had failed to age any further than that, despite wishing she could die already and see her beloved husband and children again. She still had the tomes he once used in battle; they were weathered and torn, but still there for her to comb through when she really missed him. His swords, having traversed many different classes had seen varieties of use, being from the underhanded Thief to the honorable Paladin. She remembered the countless times he'd tried to get her to learn swordplay and how adamantly she'd refused. Her excuse was that her arms would snap if she so much as held the weapon. He'd mumbled something incoherent in reply, but she was sure Robin had said something among the lines of, "Immortal race, Grima's ass," eliciting a chortle from her then- and now.

She spun in her chair slowly, sighing again. The country of Ylisse, thanks to Chrom and Robin's tireless efforts, finally brought eternal, lasting peace to the halidom. Even though there was no war to be won or strategies to be concocted, the Manakete-turned-Tactician still had plenty of paperwork to tackle, regarding brigand raids far away in Ferox, diplomatic affairs, and political business with its own nobles and from afar. Nowi giggled heartlessly at how much Robin despised paperwork. She remembered the time where he piled his somewhat-unimportant documents into a huge pile and asked her to light it afire. She'd obliged, hesitantly, afraid of what would happen if she did. When her icy-blue flame struck the hated pages, Robin began cackling maniacally; a male version of Tharja. With unbridled rage seething from his lips, he cast a powerful spell of Bolganone flames onto the already-furious fire. The pyretic cluster of heat grew even bigger, and she should have expected it when the Great Knight, Frederick, came round the corner and began to chortle alongside Robin. Within minutes, the blaze had not been satiated any, and the pyrotechnic pair evilly laughed aloud like two Sorcerers deep in an experiment within a hideous laboratory. At least, so the rumor went of Sorcerer's labs being hideous. She'd visited Miriel's, who'd reclassed to a Sorcerer during the war, and it was just as pristine as it was when she'd been a humble Mage.

A knock sounded at her door, interrupting her thoughts. When the door opened, it was the current Exalt coming to visit her. Ever since Chrom's standards of casualness had permeated his ranks, the feeling of familiarity just stuck, earning themselves the most socially comfortable palace in all of the lands. Sticking true to the royal bloodline, this prince also had navy-blue hair that was loosely styled after Robin's- a gelled-back look that only fit the deceased Grandmaster, in Nowi's eyes. However, she was not one to judge her Lord, but she silently chuckled to herself every time he tried to be serious wearing his hair like that.

"Hey, Nowi?" he asked, smiling at her in the process. "We need that brain of yours for a plan. You see, Haidyn and Lyone are getting married, and we wish to throw them the most extravagant wedding we can." Haidyn was the Exalt's personal guard, such as Frederick was to Chrom. Lyone was very much akin to Cordelia, being a Falcon Knight and sporting a perfectionist nature- along with a perfect body that Nowi would kill for. While she loved everyone in this era, she couldn't help but favor the ones that took her in during their time; the original Shepherds. Nevertheless, she still loved this bunch a lot.

"Sure thing, Ehide, just gimme one second," Nowi replied, standing up slowly and slinging the Tactician's robe Robin always used to wear. Yes, it had been repaired countless times, but it still felt comforting to her timelessly, so she always wore it. To meetings, to battle, and even to formal events, Nowi was never seen without her former husband's cloak (that had been re-stitched to hide the Mark of Grima.)

She sighed internally, loving Ehide, the Exalt, but hating the fact that she'd been interrupted from her thoughts.


	2. Make Sure You're All Right

**Song suggestion: Lay Me Down- Sam Smith (Try and find the older version)**

* * *

_A few days later_

Nowi was once again sitting at her desk, idly reading a tome that had recently been discovered from foreign lands. It held tactical interest to her on most days, but today she just wasn't really feeling it. She realized that she was falling deeper and deeper into a depression these… decades, but she didn't seem to mind it. Amidst the books she'd come to love reading, she'd discovered one on psychology. The very last stage of depression is acceptance, and she figured that ever since losing her whole family, she'd come to accept the duties and responsibilities of the role of Tactician, along with the rampant emotions dragging her down. However, she knew the effect it had on her, and it was in no way, shape, or form positive. She had to let her sufferings go without letting go of the memories. But how…?

A rythmatical knocking at her door made her jump and shake her thoughts out of her head. She scrambled to twist her face into a contortion of pleasantry. She succeeded, but only by a few milliseconds. However, when she saw who entered the door, her concern melted away like a Killing Edge through butter.

"Panne, it's so good to see you again," Nowi excitedly stated, running across the room to her Taguel friend and leaping into her strong arms. The human-rabbit was still very much taller than her, so she stroked the Manakete's radiant blondehair affectionately. "I've missed you so much! How have you been?!" Nowi exclaimed, making her pouty-face that she'd never sported since the first generation of Shepherds. Honestly, it felt very good to make that face again.

"I'm very glad to be in your company as well, my friend," Panne replied with a big smile, taking all of Nowi's questions and statements in order. "I have missed you as well, and I would have come sooner if not for… issues," she hesitantly mumbled, eyes falling to the floor. Taguel lived nearly as long as Manaketes did, so Panne had hardly aged a wrinkle. However, her eyes had crow's feet around them, indicating loss of sleep. What could be wrong?

"What's wrong, Panne? You can tell me, y'know," Nowi asked, knowing something was amiss. Ever since Robin spent time with Stahl and learned how to read faces and emotions, he'd passed that skill on to her for her own benefit. It had always helped her out when it came to maximixing the performance of the Shepherds.

"Yarne… has passed."

"Oh, gods! I'm so sorry!" Nowi cried, hugging her friend once again out of empathy. Truly, she knew what it meant to lose a child- twice. "How have you been taking it?" she asked nervously, not wanting to trigger more avalanches of emotions. Nowi also knew too much about that.

"As well as one could expect a Taguel could," she replied, sighing emptily, eyes hollow as she spoke. "However, thanks to his wonderful wife who passed long ago, he died happily," she sadly said, smiling the tiniest bit at her memories.

"How's that?"

"Lucina made Yarne feel strong. She gave him confidence. His last words were, 'Lucina, my love- one of exalted blood- I will be with you in mere seconds, never to be afraid again. I will run to you… no longer away from anything.' As such, it is my responsibility to feel happy for him knowing he passed with joy in his heart. And I do, truly. I just…" Panne choked, coughing in an attempt to hide her emotions.

"... miss him terribly?" Nowi finished for her, holding her now-best friend by the shoulders, gently.

"Yes. How did you deal with it… threefold, Nowi? How?" the Taguel inquired, curious and hurting both at the same time.

"I… honestly don't know, Panne. My only guess is that Robin's favorite quote to say had something to do with it."

"What would that be?"

Nowi cleared her throat and quickly remembered what Robin had told Chrom while en route to Valm. "We're not pawns of some scripted fate. I believe we're more. Much more... There's something between us all. Something that keeps us together... Like...invisible ties, connecting us," Nowi recited, knowing the words by heart fully. "And even though he's gone, gods know where…" she sighed exasperatedly before continuing. "... we're still connected somehow. He's as tied to me as I am to him, and he is the epitome of strength to me. So I guess you could say his tie transferred his strength to me in some cosmic sort of way. There's no other logical explanation I can conjure other than that," Nowi stated, sounding quite wordy for her normal manner of speaking. "... and… Morgan and Nah, too… and all the others… Stahl… Olivia… Tharja… Donnel… Ricken… Cordelia… and of course, you."

"That's very insightful, Nowi. But the scholarly air does not suit you one bit," Panne stated with a mocking scowl, keeping her poker-face intact while Nowi's shattered into a million pieces.

"Gahahaha! I know, right?" Nowi laughed, glad the tense air was lifted- momentarily. "But…" she began, her heavy mood beginning to crush her once again, "... it's all I have left… memories…"

"Then feed from his power by remembering all of the blissful time you spent together. And the bedroom doesn't count," Panne stated, crossing her arms. Over the centuries, she'd developed her own sense of dry humor, and Nowi always thought it hilarious, unless in a deep funk.

Which, coincidentally, she was in today.


	3. If I Can't Feel You Here With Me

**Songs: 1: Human- Christian Perri, Fire and Fury- Skillet. This is a longer one so two songs is sufficient.**

* * *

Panne stood up, sighing loudly. The both of them had taken to sighing as often as Cordelia ever since their initial comrades died. "Nowi, I really need to be going. My children must be worried that I've been gone for so long."

"I gotcha, Panne…" Nowi said sadly. "Hey, come visit me some time. And bring the kids! I wanna see'm again."

"Okay," Panne chuckled, slithering through the door without another word.

Nowi leaned back and began to sob once she was sure Panne was long gone. "Why can't… why I can't I let go of my emotions but retain the memories?" she angrily muttered, slamming her hand down on her desk forcefully. With an audible sob, she laid her head down on the desk and shook quietly, crying with herself. "Naga help me…" she mumbled.

Robin had been the driving force in her life. Aside from her Dragonstone, he had given her the most power out of anything, even her two lively children. His mind and battle prowess had always captured her attention; always. But what drew her to him was his enormous heart. He'd always been so compassionate, sympathizing with her when she talked to him about her slaving problems when she'd first joined with the Shepherds. He listened fervently to every word she said, drinking it all in like a fine ale. (minus the aftershocks of drunkenness.) And when she'd finished her rant, he'd calmly reply with words laden with wisdom and insight to counteract her angry ones.

His knowledge and intellect drew him to her, which she would acquire by merely being around him later, but his friendly, easygoing nature also drew her to him like a moth to flames. Although, he could be dead serious when he'd wanted to, especially when he felt like reprimanding Inigo for flirting or Vaike for coming home overly intoxicated with alcohol. She also liked that about him. He could be intense when the need arose, or the goofiest of goofballs, even exceeding her in goofiness. And she knew her level of goofiness was hard to surpass.

His skills never ceased to amaze her, either. Here he was, in all his glory, the man who could effortlessly master any class he set his mind to, becoming lovers with a Manakete, a race laughed and looked down upon. There was his overwhelmingly big heart speaking for him again. Be it lance, sword, or axe, Robin was a master of them all. Although Frederick, Chrom's right-hand-man, still exceeded him in mixed weapons combat, Robin was guaranteed a victory on the battlefield. Because, along with his armament prowess, he packed magic under his belt. Sweet, alluring magic. She could never master magic no matter how hard she'd tried. They'd spent countless hours together, trying to get her to even cast the tiniest of Wind spells, but to no avail. She'd grown angry at herself and blasted a training dummy with her dragon-breath out of rage, setting it ablaze. Then, Robin declared that she had a Bolganone in her belly; all she had to do was cough it up. That way of putting it made her giggle, easing her mind and ceasing all magic training between her and Robin, lest any other objects lying around be subjected to Nowi's fiery breath...

Oh, and his body. His sweet, tantalizing body that she saw gloriously exposed every night following their wedding. It was smoothly toned, with delicious muscle mass littering his body everywhere, not an ounce of excess fat to be found anywhere. Some nights she was contented with running her hands along his chest, torso, biceps, abs, and thighs and simply feeling him up. He'd obliged, albeit squirming and twitching the whole time from arousal, though she'd get too distracted by her own primal needs to keep going on, so she brought them both the exuberant feeling of pleasurable release. His perfect face that contorted to hers whenever they passionately kissed popped back into her mind and refused to leave. Once again, visions of his fine warrior's body appeared in her mind, driving her near-insane with remembrance of their nights of passion together. She remembered how she let him dominate her whenever the moon was high, when it was low, she had her way with him. Either way, they were purely gentle and loving with one another while they showed their love in the most intimate way possible, even through ropes and chains. (That, while hesitant to admit it, was her idea.)

The man was a champion at everything; he loved his daughters with every ounce of his abundant well-being. However, he'd spent more time with Morgan since she'd taken an interest to both tactics and swordplay, while Nah was content with honing her Manakete skills with Nowi. Oh, yes, both were versatile in the areas of their opposite parents, so Morgan could adequately fight with a Dragonstone when the time came to it, and Nah could pass for an intermediate user of swordplay and magic. But there was no mistaking who was the stronger Tactician and who was the stronger Manakete from Robin and Nowi's children, though they were equally matched whenever they fought- in malice or in play. Morgan's quick, sharp mind kept her three steps ahead of Nah, but the dragon held the shining attribute of brute strength, making them equals when they sparred at their best. She and Robin were alike in the same way, sometimes ending with Robin pinning Nowi down in her dragon form with whatever blade he wielded at the moment pointed at her neck, sometimes ending with her transforming after declaring she won and subduing him with a kiss. Then, as a victory celebration, she would drag him off to bed and force him to ravish her thoroughly. Robin never complained; the Tactician grandly enjoyed rewarding his wife for a job well done- in many ways the both of them never imagined possible before their marriage.

She remembered the very first thing he'd bought her when they began courting: a traditional Dragonstone. Nothing spectacular about it except for the fact that it held many a memory. She utilized its capabilities in battle to her fullest, remembering him whenever she metamorphosed into her Dragon form. To this date, that Dragonstone still held a place in her heart, being the first gift from Robin, a signal of their undying love until the day where he fatefully drew his final breath.

She abruptly sat up. Didn't she still have it, stashed around here somewhere? With eyes widened, she began to peruse the many shelves adorning her walls in search of a box that could potentially contain the nostalgic item. Then she slapped her head in stupidity. She was a Manakete, for Naga's sake! She could locate it, if it truly was here, simply by focusing her efforts to transform.

With a bit of concentration, she managed to locate the dusty old stone tucked away in the nether regions of her office. Suddenly, the memories, the oh-so vivid memories flooded back to her all at once. The mere sight of this Dragonstone set her on an emotional edge that she teetered on the brink of toppling off. The cracked surface did nothing to ease her soul; she envisioned her soul being akin to this Dragonstone, chiseled, cracked, and worn down. It had one more use in it before it shattered, she could tell. A Manakete's intuition.

An idea dawned on her. As abruptly as she stood from her desk, so did she again when she stood from the ground. Nowi grabbed the Tactician's robe from her chair and draped it around her shoulders, preparing to go out for a while.

The Manakete ran through the palace halls feverishly, wanting to extract herself from the walls and get some fresh air in the flower garden. She pictured Lady Sumia, Chrom's wife, sitting amongst the flowers and plucking the petals, slowly one-by-one. The thought made her chuckle, despite her emotional state and what she planned to do.

She walked right up to a spot within the flower garden of ice-blue hydrangeas in honor of herself marrying Ylisse's Grandmaster. A small patch of dirt lay in the center of the circular array of botanical beauties. She stood right in the center of the garden and embraced the various, exotic scents permeating her nostrils. Her aged mind flashed back to when Robin… knelt down on his left knee… and… and…

* * *

_Five hundred years prior_

"_Nowi… we did it. We ended this war. Chrom, you, I… we did it. We forged these ties that bind us; they'll never break. Not even time will keep my entire soul and heart as one from loving you. That's why, Nowi, I want to… I want to give you this… m-my love." _Robin had said amidst the icy-blue blooming hydrangeas, kneeling on his left knee and retrieving a shiny new Dragonstone from his robe that she now regularly wore. In Manakete tradition, exchanging Dragonstones was a sign of pure, undying affection for one another. Robin knew that, thanks to his excessant reading. It hit very, very close to home, sending Nowi into an emotional state of nostalgia, overjoyed shock, and unbridled love for her now-beloved.

She had stood there, dumbfounded, like a child who was punished too harshly. This was anything but punishment to the Manakete, however. This was a gift directly from the gods; she was experiencing heaven on earth.

"_Nowi… I want you to be my wife. Till the last of my days I wish to make you happy. Till the day I die, I long to keep you safe with every battle so you can return to your home; in my arms. I love you, Nowi, and I can't keep myself contained any longer. Nowi, my bubbly, cheerful Manakete whom I have come to adore so greatly, will you be my wife?" _

"_You big silly…!" _she rasped, breath hitching in her lungs. "_I love you more than you ever could! A thousand years' worth more! An eternity's worth! Of course I'll be your wife, Robin!" _she yelled, fully ecstatic with pure joy towards the Tactician, war hero, and now, her husband.

"_We'll make so many memories that I'll never forget, even when I die," _Robin sobbed, holding his wife in his arms tenderly.

"_Don't talk like that," _Nowi equally sobbed. "_Don't think about how our ages will leave me alone someday. I'll go into this fully prepared, love," _she confidently stated.

* * *

_Current Era _

"What a brilliant fool I was…!" Nowi cried amidst the flowers, clutching the decrepit Dragonstone tightly. "Such a fool I was… such a genius I was…" she sobbed, sitting down in the exact spot where she stood when Robin confessed his love to her. After crying thoroughly for a quarter of an hour, she wiped her eyes and stood up, with pained determination coursing through her mind. Could she do this?

It was time. Nowi figured that if she could never let go of her emotions without letting go of the emotions, then she was no longer fit to lead the Shepherds as such an emotional mess. With lips turned upwards to the heavens, she let a soft, alluring melody escape from her mouth.

_Every brick_

_Every stone _

_Of the world we've lain_

_Will come undone _

_If I _

_If I can't feel you here with me_

_In my sleep_

_I call your name _

_But when I wake _

_Need to touch your face_

'_Cause I_

_I need to feel you here with me_

_Oh, can you stop the aching_

'_Cause you're the one I need_

_I will burn_

_I will burn for you_

_With fire and fury_

_Fire and fury _

_My heart hurts, _

_Because you are no_

_Longer with me_

_You're the life within me_

_My fire and fury_

She sobbed loudly, thrusting her hand holding the Dragonstone skyward full of anguish and regret. With a gradual, sputtering glow, the stone prepared to transform its owner- one last, excruciating time. Nowi had never experienced discomfort or any type of pain during a metamorphosis, but now she felt like her wings were being ripped from the very fiber in which she was born, her body set ablaze, and mind subjected to mental torture. She screamed in agony, the howl extending far beyond the confines of the Ylissean palace. The entire country of Ylisse could hear Nowi's scream for Robin as she transformed into a sublime display of icy-blue scales, just like the flowers she was surrounded by. The petals were wrenched from their home as the wind from her transformation ripped through the garden. They flew around erratically, momentarily covering Nowi's eyes from seeing anything except Robin's face. Robin's smiling, compassionate, understand face, the same one in which she saw when he rescued her a half of a millenium ago. She clenched her fist as just before her body was overrun with her primal form.

The stone broke.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this little fic. I really, really, loved writing it, but I can't see myself going on after this one. So, I'll leave it as a oneshot. Thanks for reading, and if it is within Naga's will, leave a review, telling me you liked it, or providing me with constructive criticism. **

**~The Slain Executioner~**


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